Dead Dog Brian Will Live Again on ‘Family Guy’: Report

Brian, the family dog whose death last month on “Family Guy” drew complaints from fans, seems poised for a resurrection later this month, according to a report on the Entertainment Weekly Web site.

If the story turns out to be true, then the dog will have been dead for just three weeks.

The reported date of his return is Sunday, Dec. 15, according to the EW story, which cites a “logline” (as brief descriptions of upcoming TV episodes are called) as evidence that “Family Guy” isn’t letting this sleeping dog lie for long.

For the episode scheduled for that night titled “Christmas Guy,” the logline says “Stewie devises a master plan to get the one and only thing he wants for Christmas.” And the character of Brian is listed among those who are scheduled to appear on the show.

Of course, Brian could appear only in a flashback or some other way such as a dream, although the EW story also says Brian is also slated for an episode next fall featuring guest voice Maya Rudolph (lead times for the production of animated series are so long that it is likely the producers of “Family Guy” are already working on next fall’s shows).

Now watch the episode in which Brian died, right here:

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If Brian does come back to full-fledged life — after appearing to have been fatally struck by a car in the episode titled “Life of Brian” on Nov. 24 — then we expect we will hear complaints from some quarters that resurrecting this character that was undoubtedly dead is implausible.

To which we will then point out: This is a cartoon dog that talks and swigs martinis. In that context, returning from the dead sounds plausible to us!